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Men's Basketball:
UC Irvine Faces Long Beach State Wednesday at Big West Tournament
March 11, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
`EATERS, 49ERS FACE OFF IN FIRST ROUND: UC Irvine, seeded fifth, meets No. 8 seed Long Beach State Wednesday night at 6:00 in a first-round game of the Big West Conference Tournament. This will be the 79th meeting in the series. UCI won both regular-season games, 70-48 at the Walter Pyramid Feb. 2 and 64-57 in the Bren Center Feb. 28. Wednesday marks the seventh time that the schools will meet in the conference tournament as they have split the first six. RADIO: All UCI games in the tournament will be carried live on KUCI/88.9 FM with Mark Roberts and Brian Underwood calling the action. 2008 BIG WEST CONFERENCE MEN'S WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12 - First Round THURSDAY, MARCH 13 - Quarterfinals (KVMD-TV) FRIDAY, MARCH 14 - Semifinals (ESPNU) SATURDAY, MARCH 15 - Championship (ESPN2) 26TH TOURNAMENT APPEARANCE: This year marks the 26th appearance for UC Irvine in the Big West Conference Tournament. The Anteaters are 17-25 in previous tourney games. Long Beach State has knocked UCI out of the tournament in the semifinals the last two years: 75-73 in 2006 and 77-63 last season. The Anteaters have reached the tournament semifinals 12 times. UCI has played in the championship game on two occasions, losing 86-79 to Utah State in 1988 and 70-64 to New Mexico State in 1994. SANDERS NAMED FIRST TEAM ALL-BIG WEST, FELLS A SECOND-TEAM PICK: Senior forward Patrick Sanders has been named to the 2008 All-Big West Conference first team and senior center Darren Fells was selected to the second team. The 6-6 Sanders leads the Anteaters in scoring at 15.8 points per game, which ranks sixth in the Big West. He is third in three-point field goal percentage (.446), sixth in field-goal percentage (.480) and seventh in free-throw percentage (.820). Sanders ranks 16th all-time at UCI with 1,095 points plus he has 451 career rebounds and 111 blocked shots. The 6-7 Fells leads the Big West in field-goal percentage (.566) and offensive rebounds at 2.79 per game. He is ninth in the league in scoring (14.2), fifth in rebounding (6.8) and third in steals (1.68). He ranks fifth in career rebounds at UCI with 741, fifth in steals (99) and 15th in scoring with 1,187 points. THE 1-2 COMBO OF FELLS, SANDERS: Sanders and Fells have delivered a solid 1-2 punch for the Anteaters this season. They have combined to average 30.0 points and 11.4 rebounds while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 77.6 percent from the free-throw line. In their Anteater careers, they have combined to score 2,282 points and pull down 1,192 rebounds. FELLS 1ST IN BIG WEST, 35TH IN NATION: Senior center Darren Fells ranks first in the Big West and 35th in the nation in field-goal percentage at .566. Fells, who has 21 double-figure rebounding games in his career, has five double-doubles this season and 14 in his career. He has averaged 8.6 rebounds in the last eight games. He ranks second on the team with 59 assists from his post position and is third with 47 steals. Over the last seven games, Fells has converted 38 of 45 free throws (.844). He is just the fifth player in UCI history to record 1,000 points and 700 rebounds as he enters the Cal State Fullerton game with 1,176 points and 732 boards. Fells ranks fifth at UCI in career rebounds and 15th in career points. He is 10th all-time in steals with 98. SANDERS 16TH IN CAREER POINTS: Senior forward Patrick Sanders, who has scored in double digits 26 times this season, ranks 16th in career scoring at UCI with 1,095 points. With 18 points in last Saturday's 74-66 loss to Cal State Fullerton, he moved ahead of former UCI teammate Ross Schraeder by one point on the all-time Anteater scoring list. Sanders is the 18th player in UCI history to score 1,000 career points. He ranks 93rd nationally in free-throw percentage at .820. THE McINTOSH IMPACT: Senior guard Marcus McIntosh has started the last 10 games, recording 23 assists and 17 steals in that span. He has averaged 8.9 points as UCI is 7-3 in those games. HUNTER HEATS UP: Sophomore guard Michael Hunter has averaged 12.3 points over the last six games. He tied his career high with 18 points in the 82-66 win over Cal State Northridge Mar. 1, converting a big four-point play with 4:36 remaining after the Matadors had closed to within three points. Hunter recorded a career-high six steals in the Feb. 20 loss at UC Riverside. He ranks seventh in the Big West with a .426 three-point field goal percentage in league games. BLAND RANKS 2ND IN STEALS: Junior forward Kevin Bland ranks second in the Big West in steals per game with a 1.70 average for all games. He has nine steals in the past four games. Bland is ninth in the league in rebounding average (5.6) for all games. DeCASAS WITH CAREER HIGH: Sophomore wing Chad DeCasas recorded a career-high five assists, in addition to scoring 13 points in last Thursday's win over UC Davis. LAUER 10TH IN BIG WEST THREES: Junior guard Brett Lauer ranks 10th in the Big West with a .395 three-point field goal percentage for all games. He scored a career-high 25 points, including 23 in the second half, at UC Riverside Feb. 20. He also hit a career-high seven threes in 10 attempts. The last UCI player to make at least seven triples in a game was Ross Schraeder, who was 8 of 13 in a 76-55 win at San Jose State Dec. 17, 2004. SOLID `D': In 12 of the 16 Big West Conference games this season, UCI held the opposition to less than 70 points. The Anteaters rank second in the Big West with a defensive average of 66.2. `EATERS 28TH NATIONALLY IN FREE-THROW SHOOTING: UCI is 28th nationally (of 328 teams) in free-throw percentage at .744. The Anteaters have hit 57 of 71 (.803) free throws in the last four games. UCI BALLHANDLING RECOGNIZED: The Anteaters rank 37th nationally (of 328 D-I teams) in fewest turnovers per game with a 12.6 average. UCI had a season-low five turnovers in the Feb. 28 win over Long Beach State. BIG TIPPERS: The Anteaters have won the opening tip 22 times in the team's 30 games this season. TEAM AWARD WINNERS: Several awards were announced at UCI's men's basketball banquet Sunday at the Bren Center Berry Terrace. Darren Fells and Patrick Sanders were named co-Most Valuable Players, Marcus McIntosh received the Most Inspirational Award, and Chad McDaniel was recipient of the Anteater Award, given to the individual regarded as the consummate team player. Sanders and McIntosh were recognized for serving as team captains this season. ANTEATERS ARE DUE AT ACC: UCI is 0-4 this season in games at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Anteaters lost a designated "home" game to Nevada, Nov. 13 while the new Bren Center floor was being installed. UCI was the first Big West team to participate in the inaugural Anaheim Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. The Anteaters lost 68-53 to Mississippi State, 85-80 to Chattanooga and 60-57 to San Diego. IN THE BREN: UC Irvine was 11-1 this season in the Bren Events Center and is 161-120 all-time. The Anteaters have won 79 of their last 102 games (.775) in the Bren dating back to February 2000. COACH DOUGLASS LEADS UCI IN CAREER WINS: Pat Douglass, in his 11th season as head coach at UC Irvine, passed Bill Mulligan Feb. 14 in the 74-59 win over Pacific for the most wins in Anteater men's basketball coaching history. Douglass enters the Big West Tournament with a UCI record of 168-153 while Mulligan posted a 163-156 mark in 11 seasons. ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE: Coach Dan Monson's 49ers are 6-24 overall and were 3-13 in the Big West Conference this season. The 49ers have lost their last seven games, including a 70-68 overtime decision last Saturday to UC Santa Barbara, the top seed in the Big West Tournament. Junior guard Donovan Morris, an All-Big West first team pick, leads the conference in scoring at 21.0 points per game. He scored 20 points in UCI's 70-48 win at Long Beach and 25 in the Anteaters' 64-57 win at the Bren Center.
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